How might the US Election Impact your Investments?

If you are a long terms Investor with a 10 year + time horizon should you be concerned about the outcome of the upcoming US Presidential?

In short the answer is no, history has shown that Markets generally trend higher regardless of which party wins the election (See table 1 below)

Politics can often elicit strong emotions and biases, but investors would be wise to tune out the short term noise and focus on the long term. That’s because elections, and US elections in particular have, historically speaking, made essentially no difference when it comes to long-term investment returns.

Over the last 85 years there have been seven Democratic and seven Republican presidents. Regardless of whether Republicans or Democrats have been in power it hasn’t made a meaningful difference to stocks, the general direction of the market has always been up. What should matter more to investors than election results is remaining invested for the longer term.

Many political observers are referring to this election as the most important in our lifetime. But that has been said many times about previous elections and will be said again many times about future elections. In the case of all previous elections the market continued to be resilient. By maintaining a long-term focus, investors can position themselves for a brighter future regardless of the outcome on Election Day

Barry Kerr BBS QFA CFP® is the Managing Director of Wealthwise Financial Planning,with offices in Carrick on Shannon & Galway , www.wealthwise.ie. Wealthwise Financial Ltd T/A Wealthwise Financial Planning is Regulated by the central Bank of Ireland. All details and views contained within this article are for informational purposes only and does not constitute advice. Wealthwise Financial Planning makes no representations as to the accuracy, completeness or suitability of any information and will not be liable for any errors, omissions or any losses arising from its use.